August 29, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
561 
effect on Odontoglossums. When these con¬ 
ditions are dry, it is a difficulty to keep the 
pseudo-bulbs from becoming shrivelled after 
they have been disturbed for re-potting. 
It is a good plan to use a hose pipe and 
water the ground and outside walls of the 
house once or twice a day, so that a moist 
air may be conveyed to the houses in very 
dry weather. 
Masdevallias. 
Practically the whole of the Masdevallias 
will now be emitting new roots from the base 
of the recently matured growths. These 
plants should not require annual re-potting, 
nor should they be re-potted for the sake of 
re-potting. It is best not to disturb the 
plants unless they require more pot room 
or the potting compost is in an advanced 
state of decay. It is well to examine each 
plant carefully, removing any dead leaf 
stalks and decaying matter about the base 
of the growths. This will also give an op¬ 
portunity to see that the plants are free 
from scale or other insect pests. In the 
case of any plants that need re-potting, care 
must be taken to avoid damage to the roots 
in turning the plants out of the pots. I 
find it a good plan to water the plants a few 
hours before they are turned out; this will 
greatly facilitate the detachment of the 
roots from the sides of the pots, but the 
pots should be broken if they will not turn 
out readily. 
Potting Composts. 
Both for Odontoglossums and Masdeval¬ 
lias the same compost is suitable. We use 
about two-thirds fibrous Orchid peat, the re¬ 
maining third being composed of broken 
Oak or Beech leaves and chopped Sphagnum 
Moss, with sufficient coarse sand and finely 
broken crocks added to render the compost 
porous. I would not advise the inclusion 
of leaves in the compost unless the grower 
has had, some previous experience in the 
watering of plants in a leaf compost. The 
compost should be simply Peat and Sphag¬ 
num Moss. The pots used should be clean 
and filled to about one-third of their depth 
with chopped bracken roots, one or two 
crocks being just placed over-the hole at the 
bottom which will be all the crocks neces¬ 
sary. A mixture of Polypodium may be 
used if desired, but while good peat is ob¬ 
tainable I prefer it for several reasons. 
H. J. Chapman. 
Window Gardening in Australia. 
Among the valuable lessons which Aus¬ 
tralian visitors might learn in England 
is the use of flowers for window gardens, 
such as beautifying shops and hotels, 
houses large and small in a hundred parts 
of London. Occasionally one sees a win¬ 
dow ledge similarly adorned in Melbourne 
or Sydney, but the art of window garden¬ 
ing is not practised to a hundredth of the 
extent or with anything like the same taste 
and skill as it is in this city.'—“British 
Australasian.” 
Remarkable Crop of Peas. 
On a six-acre market garden, forming 
part of the model small holding lately 
started by Miss Edith Bradley atTIolling- 
bourne, Kent, one-eighth of an acre was 
sown with Peas early in May. During 
the first eight days of August thirty-six 
bushels of splendid late Peas were 
gathered and marketed, and there are 
still four bushels to pick. The average 
yield of Peas to the acre being computed 
at 150 to 170 bushels, this is a remarkable 
crop. Thin planting and constant hoeing 
are the attributed causes of success in 
combination with a good season and high 
germinating power of the seed. 
Address: The Editor, The Gardening 
World, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which may 
cover any branch of gardening. Questions 
should be as brief as -possible and written on 
one side of the paper only, a separate sheet 
of paper should be used for each question. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
Garden Plans. —Gardeners who would make 
the best use of this column are invited to 
prepare and forward to us a rough outline 
drawing or plan of their gardens, indicating 
the position of beds and lawns, the charac- 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
3145. Malmaison Carnations Not 
Flowering. 
Would you kindly tell me the reason for 
a Maknaison Carnation not flowering? It 
is a cutting struck about the end of July 
last year, in a pot, and grown on in a cold 
greenhouse and repotted in early spring this 
year. It is a fine plant, healthy looking, 
grown well, with a main stem about 18 in. 
high and strong growths from the base about 
9 in. long. It is in a 5 in. pot. Now the 
lower leaves are turning yellow and curl¬ 
ing. I hoped I should have had good flowers 
on it this year, but there is no sign of any 
bloom so far. {Mystery, Soms.) 
Judgtng from the time when it was struck, 
in July last year, it had scarcely been strong 
enough to bloom at its proper time. The 
potting in spring would induce it to start 
into fresh growth and by that means retard 
flowering. We are not certain what treat¬ 
ment you gave it, but more particularly in 
the matter of exposure to light and air dur¬ 
ing the winter months, as that was necessary 
to harden the tissues and induce flowering. 
Another year we should advise you.to layer 
the young shoots as soon as the plant has 
finished flowering. We think it should 
flower next year, and you can remove the 
withered leaves which are unsightly, re¬ 
taining the plant till next year. A 5 in. 
pot is rather small for the size of the plant, 
and you might repot it now, giving it a size 
larger, and allowing it to grow and get 
fully established in the fresh soil before 
winter. Layers root much more quickly 
than cuttings, and we presume the cutting 
was rather weak, otherwise it would have 
damped off because the strong shoots of 
Malmaison Carnations do not make good 
cuttings. 
3146. Agapanthus Not Flowering. 
I have a large plant of Agapanthus, but 
it has not bloomed well. Two years ago I 
put it into a wooden tub, as it had burst the 
pot it was in. Before that it gave a lot of 
flowers. Can you say why it will not bloom 
now, and if I can do anything to make it 
do so ? I keep it in a cool part of the green¬ 
house. (M. Kinnear, Yorks.) 
Possibly you put the plant in a tub that 
was considerably larger than the pot from 
which it came. This would give it a fresh 
imoetus to make strong growth, instead of 
hardening up the crowns to flower. Ycu also 
ter and height of the fence or wall; posi¬ 
tion of vegetable garden, orchard, etc. The 
north side of the garden and any over¬ 
shadowing buildings should be denoted. It 
should also be stated whether the garden is 
-flat or on a declivity, and all large trees 
should be marked. Particulars of the na¬ 
ture of the soil will also help us to give 
satisfactory replies. When such plans are 
received they will be carefully fUtd, with 
the name and address of the sender, and 
will be consulted by the Editor whenever an 
enquiry is sent. 
state that you keep it in a cool part of the 
greenhouse. Possibly this means that it is 
shaded. Agapanthus likes full exposure to 
sunshine and plenty of air when making its 
growth during the summer months. A good 
plan, therefore, would be to keep it outside 
during the summer, standing it in a sunny 
position. Give it plenty of water in dry, 
warm weather, and it should flower well 
even out of doors. At the end of September 
you can take it into the greenhouse, but keep 
it fully exposed and water it during the 
winter months when it requires it. Under 
those conditions you should have no diffi¬ 
culty in flowering it. 
COLD FRAMES. 
3147. Rearing Pansies. 
I would very much like to try rearing 
Pansies in my garden. Is it too late to sow 
some this year, and if so, what am I to do ? 
Any information you can give me would be 
thankfully received. I have a greenhouse 
and two cold frames. Please say which 
would be the best for rearing them. (W. 
Butler, Lancs.) 
It is now rather late to sow Pansies in the 
open air, but if you had done it in July or 
at the beginning of August the plants would 
have been fairly well established, and could 
have been left in the open ground all the 
winter. You can still sow seed, however, in 
boxes and keep the boxes in a cold frame. 
Keep the boxes under observation, and when 
the soil becomes dry water with a rosed 
watering pot during the remainder of the 
season. The lights, however, will keep the 
plants clean and dry overhead and in genial 
condition. When they have made a few 
leaves and the soil becomes suitable in 
spring you can plant them out—say, about 
the beginning of April. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
3148. Carnation Cuttings. 
I have made a Carnation bed this July 
from slips given me by a friend. I rolled 
the ground down hard and mixed a lot of 
road sand in with it before inserting the 
cuttings. I was told not to water them, but 
I have done so about twice a week, as they 
appeared getting so burned up, though they 
do not get the sun all day where they are. 
They are looking very withered and un- 
haDOv. Can I do anything else for them 
now? (Mystery, Scms.) 
